Overnight Poop!

[Parkmama]

My Labrador pup is 8 months old and has recently got into the habit of pooping overnight on the front door mat. She was crate trained at first and did really well overnight with no accidents at all. Then we transitioned her to just her bed a free reign of the downstairs and it was all fine. She got poorly and had a few accidents overnight but has since fully recovered and now keeps doing doing it in the hallway / front door area. We are now making a huge fuss when she goes outside during the day where she should, treats etc but it's tricky with this overnight situation. I wake up in the morning and can smell it from my bed 🤮🤮🤮 any tips?? We are thinking of closing off the hallway just to see if it's a scent thing . . .

I know this is an obvious question but what time are you letting her out for her bedtime toileting? Have you tried making it Later?

What have you cleaned the area with?

She goes out around 10:30/11pm and does a wee, she has never pooped at this time, she never seems to wee overnight indoors.

I have cleaned the area with flash pet spray and dettol antibacterial spray. Is there something else I could use which might destroy the scent?

I would use pet enzyme cleaner like simple solution

What time is her last meal?

If she is happy maybe pop her back in the crate for a few nights.

Last meal is at 6:30pm

@Parkmama

She goes out around 10:30/11pm and does a wee, she has never pooped at this time, she never seems to wee overnight indoors.

I have cleaned the area with flash pet spray and dettol antibacterial spray. Is there something else I could use which might destroy the scent?

This won't get rid of the scent for her - try a special pet spray. Like PP said, Simple Solution is really good - you can get it from most pet shops or they sell it on Amazon. We used it for accidents when our pup was small and it worked really well - didn't leave any smell behind at all. If she's going on carpet, though, you may need to treat the underlay and floor underneath as well.

Dogs are so, so sensitive to smell!

Thanks everyone, have bought the simple solution to try. Fingers crossed that does the trick!

My dog starting waking us as he needed to poo at 4am and I've now started taking him out for a last walk around 8.30pm. It's a short walk (he gets a long one earlier in the day) and it's just a chance for him to poo again.

It's stopped the 4am wake up call!

My lab did an early morning poo while a puppy and we stopped it by changing her main meal to the morning rather than the evening. She just had a tiny token feed in the morning. Problem solved instantly.

bicarb and vinegar worked for us.

We sectioned off the hallway where she kept going (whilst we waited for the spray to be delivered that deters her) and came down this morning to just poop everywhere, in the kitchen, by the back door, in the dining room!! I'm wondering if the solution is crating her overnight? She was fine when crated before, we did change her diet from kibble to raw so that might be it but I don't see how that makes a difference to when she goes, I thought it had more impact on consistency etc. Thanks everyone!

@Parkmama What kibble are you giving her. Some dried foods are better than others and she's still a young dog. Mine are fed grain free and potato free food. I've got a 7 month pup he has stopped toileting through the night now as I've only had him 4 weeks so it took him time to settle. He was raw fed now he's on dried. After your dog been fed do you give her treats or tidbits.
I'm not sure crating would solve the problem as if she needs a poo she will do it in the crate. Maybe look at the food she's on and at night walk around the garden with her to see if she does a poo. Also maybe feed her meal a little earlier.
I have wooden floors not carpets as I have 4 dogs and I use a deodorising pet disinfectant to mop my floors with. This is a glimmerman product its neutralises any dog smells. My dogs dont poop or wee but two of them lay out in the rain then have that wet dog smell. I use glimmerman dog disinfectant to mop my floors with. The one I buy smells of cherry but there is different fragrances.Look on Amazon for it. Its safe for pets. My house smells like cherry bakewell rather than wet dog.

A decent walk at 22:00 may resolve this.

The change to raw may impact as it may be being digested quicker.

Our dogs are only fed in the morning in order to have time to clear out before bed. We still do the late night walks to ensure the dogs understand it is bed time and this is the last chance to go.

We crate the younger dog for bedtime just in case (worst case it keeps any accidents confined and easy to clear up).

I’d start again with training and go back to using a crate in the night. It can be tricky training them out of this once they’ve got in the habit, as it’s obviously hard to discipline them when you’re not actually catching them doing it

@Itsjustabitofbanter yes I think you're right, she was doing so well in the crate and outside of it until we changed her food. So hard to train her not to do it when we're all asleep! Thanks everyone for your comments

Could you set an alarm at 4am and take her out then? Start writing down times she goes on this new diet & see a pattern?